Foot guard



March 14, 1944.' H N WASSER 2,344,069

FOOT-GUARD Filed Nov 5, 1941 Wafer Patented Mar. 14, 1944 UNITED STATES PATIENT OFFICE Foo'r GUARD Harry N. Wasser, Ellwood City, Pa., assignor to Ellwood Safety Appliance Company, Ellwood City, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 3, 1941', Serial No. 417,687

Claims.

This invention relates to foot protectors and more particularly to a combined toe and foot protector adapted to be worn over the shoes of workmen in industrial plants to protect the feet of the workmen against falling objects.

In rolling mills and other industrial plants workmen are often engaged in handling heavy objects such as billets weighing more than a hundred pounds, and in many instances such objects accidentally slip or fall either on the feet of the Workman himself, or onto the feet of other workmen, causing crushed toes and other painful injuries.

The present foot protector is constructed of relatively light metal, but due to its novel construction has sufficient stiffness and strength to withstand the blows from any object that a man can handle. Also due to the novel shape and construction of the foot protector of this application, any blow or shock delivered to the foot protector will be delivered by the protector directly to the ground, due to the fact that the body of the protector bridges over the wearer's foot and has its lower edges disposed to engage the ground if struck by a dropped object. The foot guard or protector described herein is generally of the type shown in U, S. Patent 1,640,669, issued August 30, 1927, to Clinton E. Sankey, and is intended to provide certain im provements and novel features of design and con struction that are of particular utility in a foot guard of that type.

In my U. S; Patent No. 2,166,768, issued May 30, 1939, to Ellwood Safety Appliance 00., as assignee, I disclosed a foot protector with certain features of construction whereby 'a toe-piece, at the front of the protector shell, held the shell edges directly against the ground orsurface on which the wearer was standing.

For certain applications, however, where the wearermay have to walk or climb in a way that requires more flexing of the foot, and greater freedom of movement at the toe of the shoe, it is desirable to support the front or'toe edge of the protector slightly abovethe ground or floor surface, during normal conditions, while permitting the protector to move downward, immediately, to protecting position, against the floor or ground, to brace itself against the full force of the blow from a falling or striking object. 7 I

One of the objects of my present invention, therefore, is to provide a foot guard of such construction that it willbe resiliently supported in place slightly above the ground upon which the wearer maybe standing, but will drop to enga and rest against the ground when struck by a falling'object.

Another object of my invention is to provide a foot guard of the type described that shall be relatively' quiet during walking movements of the wearer.

Another, and important, object of this invention is to provide a method of and means for support in 'the foot protector on the wearers shoe-en cased foot so that the shoe shall movewith the foot, and no swinging motion of the shoe'shall be permitted with respect to the foot while the wearer of the guard is walking or otherwise moving his foot, thereby eliminating any forces ofthe guard upon the foot other than the direct weight of the protector.

Another important object of the inventionis to provide an arrangement for supporting the guard on'theshoe-encased foot of the wearer in'such manner as to bring the gravity force line of the guard as close as possible to -the ankle or center of articulation of the foot, thereby to reduce the moment arm of the weight or, gravity force of the guard to aminimum'. q a

Another object of this invention is to provide a supporting arrangement for supporting the guard on the shoe-encased foot of the wearer in such manner as to provide a soft-yielding contact between the guard and'the shoe of the wearer, so that the guard may be lightly and ,floatingly supported on the shoe'of the wearer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a fastening device and arrangement to attach the guard to the shoe of the wearer and to detach it from the shoe-of the wearer easily'and quickly. Y i

v A further object .of the invention is to provide an attaching means which may be easily and quickly adjusted to adapt the guard to fit the shoe of all wearers. a g a A foot guard of the type described and modified according to the principle. of my invention is illustrated in .the accompanying drawing, in which ,7 .f I

Figure 1 is a longitudinal and elevational side view of,the guard shown as applied to the foot of a wearer; o

Figure 2 is a plan view of th foot guard of this invention with parts broken away to show the spring clamp and support for the shoe.

. Figure 3 is a rear view of theguard shown in ie e ra d r r or, l5ig1.1re'4 is a perspective view of the spring clamp and support for the guard. g "As shown in the drawing, the foot protector'or guard It! consists of a metal shell or body II that is generally arched or convex in cross-section to bridge over and cover the toe and instep of the foot of the person wearing the guard. The shell body I l is generally open at the bottom.

Moreover, it is made of a width sufficient to clear the sides of the shoe of a wearer and is of a height sufficient to clear the top of the instep of the wearers shoe when the lower edges of the shell body are in engagement with the ground.

The shell body of the guard is preferably made of a relatively light gauge metal plate and is forged or pressed into shape from one piece of metal plate. Any metal of high strength may be employed, but the lightness in weight is, of course,

an important item. The shell body may be made" of steel plate, although I have made the shell body of high tensile strength aluminum alloy, which has been found satisfactory.

In order to impart additional strength to the shell body, the body is provided with a plurality of transversely extending stiffening and reinforcing ribs or corrugations 3 and 4 on each side of a centrally arranged longitudinally extending stiffening and reinforcing rib or corrugation 5. These ribs or corrugations 3, 4, and 5 are pressed up slightly on the body and have a convex crosssection, and serve to materially strengthen the body against collapse, and consequently permit a lighter gauge metal to be used for the shell body than could otherwise be used.

The rear-ends of the lower edges of the shell body are cut away to form inclinedsurfaces l8 and I9, and they are connected by a rigid tie member "that is riveted, or otherwise secured to the sides of the body, by fastening means such as rivets 2|. The tie member 20 serves a double purpose. It serves first to prevent the spreading of the side portions of the arched body, and serves also to' hold the guard down on the foot of the wearer, as will be explained in more detail later.

In order to fasten the guard to the shoe of the wearer, I provide a looped steel wire spring member disposedwithin the shell and anchored to the shell at the rear ends of the lower edges of the shell, on the rivets 2|, that secure the rigid cross tie'member 29 to the lower edges of the shell body; In addition to' the looped spring 25 for holding the shell on the shoe, I also provide a resilient extensible heel tie spring 26. whose ends are snap connected'to the anchored loop spring 25, with siifiicient freedom to permit the back spring element 28 to be' fitted around the heel or back part of the shoe of the wearer.

The looped spring 25 and the back spring 26 serve to supportthe shell'snugly, but resiliently, on the shoe of the wearer in such manner, as to maintain the shell in proper position to become effective immediately for protection, whenever necessary, and at the same time to permit free and easy removal of the shell from the shoe of the wearer when its removal is desired.

k The looped spring 25 serves several functions.

First it 'l'ribddies a slide contour 100i) 21 that is adapted to fit and seat or uses itself into the usual groove at the Welt found between the upper and the sole of thejshoel 1 Second, the loep'ed spring 25 embodies convolution loops 28 by meansoi which the entire spring 25 may be fastened to the shell. Third, the spring 25 embodies end oonvolutions 29-to receive fastenings snaps-3l and 32 for the heeltie spring 26. Fourth, itembodies an upper bailshaped loop 30 to support the shell in slightly raised position.

The rear terminals of the bottom or shoe-contour loop 21 continue into the two convolutions loops 28 that fit over the inner ends of the two rivets 2| at the rear of the shell body, to constitute fastening loops, and thus support th entire loop spring 25 operatively on the shell. Those two circular loops 28 then continue backward, and the wire sections again are curved to constitute two additional circular end loops or convolutions 29, and proceed from those two end loops 29 to" constitute the upper bail-shape loop 30.

The two end loops 29 serve as anchoring terniinalsfor the two spring-snaps 3| and 32 at the ends of the heel tie 26.

The shoe-contour loop 21 is held tightly in its groove, above the shoe sole, by the backward force or pull of the heel tie spring 26. In that manner, and to that extent, the shell is held snugly on the shoe.

The upper, bail-shaped loop 30 is held in its u p r position against the under surface of the shell by the'resilient force of the end convolutions or loops 29. The upward pressure of that upper loop 30, on th under surface-of the shell, serves to hold the shell in a slightly elevated position above the floor. That same lifting force, of that loop 3E1, not only holds the front end of the shell, above the shoe, slightly raised from the floor, but also; tends to lift the back part of the shell sufi'iciently to raise the bottom cross bar 20 up against the lower surface of the instep of theshoe.

Thus,- the shoe contour loop 27, and the back heel-tie spring 26 establish a resilient floating plane or platform of support for the shell, and serve, also, to bias or lift the cross bar 20 upwardly, as already explained, to rest against the under surface of the instep portion of the shoe, which tends further toprovide a relatively stable three-point support between the guard and the shoeofthewearer.

The upper loop 30: also provides what is in effect a three-point support for the shell since the two side walls ofthe shell are mechanically connected to the fastening circular loops 28, that may be'con si dered mechanical extensions of the circular end loops 29, about which the upper shell supporting loop' 30 is pivoted.- The upper loop 30 thus-has two supporting points in the end loops 29 at its lower terminals, and provides a third point of support, as a reaction force, where the upper section of the loop 30 engages the inner surface'of the shell.

Since the shape of the upper loop 30 conforms substantiallyto the shape of the inside of the shell, -the resilience of the loop 30 serves to hold its entire length against the side Walls of the shell to a suflicient extent to limit, or prevent, casual relative movement, or lost motion between the loop material and the shell, when the'shell is struck by a falling object.

Consequently, due to such unity or movement, 1

At the same time the guard is secured to the shoe by the shoe contour loop 21 and the heel tie 26 and the cross tie bar 20, so that a relatively tightcoupling is established between the shoe and the guard. At the same time the resilient support of the shell slightly above the shoeobviates any direct pressure that might be a cause of discomfort.

A further advantage of the resilient support of the guard, by the upper loop 30, is that such supportbrings the line of force from the center' of gravity of the guard, and through the foot, relatively close to the ankle about which the footarticulates. The moment arm of the gravity force, or weight of the guard about the ankle, is therefore reduced to a minimum so far as the shape of normal human foot will permit, and the weight efiect, or force of the guard, that would make itself felt on the foot of the wearer is therefore reduced to a minimum.

Thus, by reason of the manner in which the guard is supported on, and secured to, the shoe of a wearer, it provides its maximum safety with minimum discomfort or annoyance. By elevating the front edge of the guard slightly above the floor level, the wearer has extreme freedom of motion in walking or climbing with attendant maximum freedom of toe fiexure without any interference from the guard.

vThe entire loop spring 25 thus performs several functions; it holds the guard on the shoe; it holds the guard elevated above the floor level; and it guides the guard to proper position when the guard is struck by a falling object.

The snap fasteners 3| and 32 are secured to the ends of the helical spring 26 which is encircled by a rubber tube 35 fitting loosely over the spring 26 in such manner as to permit a certain amount of free rotation of the rubber tube with respect to the helical spring 25. The spring and the rubber tube 35 constitute the back connecting member 26 by means of which the guard may be secured to the shoe of the wearer.

When the guard is to be applied to the shoeencased foot of the wearer, the shoe is extended i into the guard between the cross-tie 2B and the space beneath the top of the shell to a point where the toe of the shoe will engage the bottom loop 27. The loop 2'! is placed to nest in the groove at the welt, and the rubber covered spring attaching member 26 is then raised to surround the back of the shoe above the heel in the manner shown in Figure 1. The guard is thus easily and readily attachable to the shoe.

In order to remove the guard, the back securing element 26 is rolled down off the back of the shoe either manually or by the other foot of the wearer, and the guard then dropped oiT the wearers shoe.

Thus, by reason of the manner in which the guard is supported on and secured to the foot of a wearer, it provides maximum safety with minimum discomfort or annoyance. A guard of the type shown herein may be worn over relatively long working periods without any feeling of discomfort on the part of the wearer.

My invention is not limited to any of the specific details of construction that are illustrated, since they may be variously modified without de parting from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A toe and foot guard comprising an arched metal shell body shaped to fit over the toe and instep of a shoe-encased foot of the wearer; re-

silient means for supporting the shell bodyon'the shoe, comprising a resilient contour loop fitting onto the shoe at the toe of the sole, and a resilient loop pivoted on the shell on an axis below the foot instep and operative to hold the shell front end slightly elevated above the floor at the toe; and a quickly attachable and detachable means to permit the guard to be readily attached to, and detached from, the shoe.

2. A toe and foot guard comprising an arched metal shell body shaped to fit over the toe and instep ofa shoe-encased foot of the wearer, the metal body being wider than the shoe of the wearer so that its side edge will be free to engage the ground; and a resilient device for resiliently supporting the shell body above the instep of the wearer and above the ground and for securing the shell body to the shoe of the wearer, said device comprising an element adapted to be secured to the shoe for easy and ready detachment, second elements for pivotally supporting the back ends of the shell about a horizontal transverse-axis, a third element'for resiliently biasing the front end of the shell slightly above the ground at the toe of the shoe, and fourth elements resiliently connecting the secondand the third elements.

3. A toe and foot guard comprising a rigid selfsustaining shell shaped to fit' loosely over the toe and instep of a shoe-encased foot of a wearer; and means for resiliently supporting the guard on the shoe, said means comprising a first wire loop of substantially U-shape to fit into the groove around the toe and sides of the shoe above the sole, a second wire loop of U-sh'ape' fitting under the shell to impose a lifting force on the shell, and a convolution joining corresponding ends of the two loops and each serving as an eye to receive a rivet to secure the loop ends to the back portions of the shell to permit the shell to pivot about an axis through those two eyes and rivets; and means detachably securable to the back ends of the first U-shape wire loop, to hold that loop snugly on the shoe.

4. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toe and instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer; a cross strap extending across the bottom of the shell and connected to the bottom edges of the side walls of the shell to be underneath the shoe of the wearer; a yielding element within the shell for fioatingly supporting the shell on the shoe; and a resilient loop element outside of the shell to serve to hold the shell on the shoe, said resilient element being connected to the yielding element within the shell to hold the yielding element normally tight.

5. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toe and instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer; a cross strap extending across the bottom of the shell and connected to the bottom edges of the side walls of the shell to be underneath the shoe of the wearer; a yielding element within the shell for fioatingly supporting the shell on the shoe, and comprising a U-shaped wire loop nesting in the groove at the toe and along the sides of the sole of the shoe; and a resilient loop element outside of the shell to serve to hold the shell on the shoe, said resilient element being connected to the yielding element within the shell to hold the yielding element normally tight.

6. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toe and instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer; a cross strap extending across the bottom of the shell and connected to the bottom edges. or the side wallsv of the shell to be underneath the shoe of the wearer; a yielding element within the shell for floatingly' supporting the shell on the shoe, and comprising a U-shaped wire loop nesting in the groove at the toe and along the sides of the sole of the shoe; and secured by terminal eyes to the shell. adjacent the ends of the cross-strap; and a resilient loop element outside of the shell to serve to hold the shell on the shoe, said resilient element being connected to the yielding element within the shell to hold the yielding element normally tight.

'7. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toe and instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer; a cross strap extendingacross the bottom of the shell and connected to the bottom edges of the side walls of the shell to be underneath the shoe of the wearer; a yielding element within the shell for fioatingly supporting the shell on the shoe, and comprising a U-shaped wire loop nesting in the groove at the toe and along the sides of the sole of the shoe; and secured by terminal eyes to the shell adjacent the ends of the cross-strap; and a second u-shaped loop extending upward from said terminal eyes to engage and lift the front end of the shell slightly above ground; and a resilient loop element outside of the shell to serve to hold the shell on the shoe, said resilient element be-' ing connected'to the yielding element within the shell to hold the yielding element normally tight.

8. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toe and instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer; a cross-bar secured to the back ends of the shell, to be under the wearers shoe when the shell is in place; and means for securing the shell to the shoe and for positioning the shell thereon, said means comprising a U-shaped loop adapted to fit over the front end of. the toe of the shoe and having its terminals pivotally secured to the back ends of the shell; a resilient element secured to the terminals of the U-shaped loop and disposed underneath the arch of the shell to impose a lifting force on the shell; and resilient means attached to the terminals of the U-shaped loop and adapted to be positioned around and behind the heel of the shoe, to pull the U-shaped loop tightly on the shoe.

9. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toe and instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer; and means for floatingly supporting the shell on the shoe of the wearer, said support embodying means for pivoting the shell about an axis through its back edges; means operative about said pivotal axis for holding the front end of the shell slightly elevated above the ground at the toe of the shoe; and means for securing the floating support for shell to the shoe.

10. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped'to fit over the toe and instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer; and means for floatingly supporting the shell on the shoe of the wearer, said support embodying means for gripping the shoe at the sole of the shoe without impeding free normal flexing of the shoe during walking or climbing movement, means for pivotally supporting the shell at its back ends on an axis transverse to the shoe, and means for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively elevated position at the toe of the shoe.

HARRY N. WASSER. 

